Of Flowers and Dandelions
by CURUS
Summary: If a male Harry is (in Snape's words) a carbon copy of James, what will the world do when a female Harry is a splitting image of Lily? AU.


**CURUS**: At this point, I just want to get my story out and I hope you all like it.

**Summary**: If a male Harry is (in Snape's words) a carbon copy of James, what will the world do when a female Harry is a splitting image of Lily? AU.

Of Flowers and Dandelions

**01**: The Sorting

Orchid stood quietly in line with her fellow peers, having met a few of them on the train. She wasn't nervous, more enthralled, magic was such a foreign thing to her. The word, oddly enough, had been forbidden with her home family, and since finding out her status as a witch, a powerful and impressionable one at that, she had been able to see her life a lot clearer. Though Petunia never laid a hand on her, Vernon was quick to strike and by default, so was Dudley. She loved her family despite their many many many faults and always wondered what Petunia was thinking as she cleaned her wounds from Vernon's many bouts of anger. Petunia was always gentle, stern but gentle and showed her how to clean and cook instead of expecting her to know how. Though Petunia was somewhat kind she was expected to do a lot, she felt like a house maid most of the time except for the rare days when Petunia would treat her like a human, telling tales of her younger years and confiding to her the gossip of the neighbours. She couldn't help but love her Aunt dearly despite her refusal to explain the death of her parents. Dudley on the other hand would occasionally allow her to play before he got bored and poked her or pulled her rather long red hair. Petunia always cut it short, to her chin but it constantly grew back past her shoulders and all she could do was let it.

It alarmed her when the large man Hagrid had made his appearance, explaining to her things she could never fully understand until now. As soon as she hit the book store, she bought anything remotely useful, always having been fascinated with the muggle interpretation of pagans, she was already well versed in the culture. She shouldn't have been surprised how accurate they were, maybe a squib had finally found his calling as a writer or something but was grateful for the close link. She barely scratched the surface of the Wizarding World and she vowed would by the time she left this magnificent castle. The only upside was that she didn't have to wear Dudley's hand me downs and looked halfway decent.

A little shy, hesitant and curious, Orchid Lily Potter with her green eyes looked around at the unfamiliar faces and managed to focus on that of her smiling companion. They had met on the train, Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger were nice enough. She also had the pleasure of meeting Ronald Weasley and took comfort in his confidence and intelligence when it came to Wizard England.

"Are you sure we don't have to wrestle a troll?" Neville asked, he was just as timid as she and while Hermione and Ron often argued, they sat side by side discussing potential favourite classes. He even showed her a book about her and wondered how they managed to have baby pictures when she had none. What really piqued her interest was that the head master, Albus Dumbledore, was her supposed magical guardian and that Sirius Orion Black, her godfather was in Azkaban for betraying her family. She didn't quite like the idea of being famous and preferred keeping a low profile and hopefully making friends, friends that wouldn't judge her for growing up in the muggle world.

What disturbed her was that she had to find out information on herself from a book and for the first time since she was a toddler, Orchid was angry, mostly at Dumbledore for keeping so many things from her. She would ask him, her being timid be damned, there were just some things that she should know.

"Don't listen to Ronald Neville," Orchid had to hold back a giggle at Ron's exasperated sigh, he preferred Ron, he had been trying to explain that to her since their meeting. Orchid was convinced Hermione merely did it to annoy him and judging by the slight smirk it was working. Hermione opened her mouth and the old torn hat on the stool began to sing. Orchid blinked, wondering what kind of magic was used to make such a hat, it was rather cool. Magic was simply breathtaking, she could never get used to the feeling of being home when surrounded by it. As soon as the applause was done, McGonagall began calling out names and judging by the quick steps everyone took, they were just as nervous as she was. Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor and she hoped she would be with her along with Neville. She had the pleasure of encountering Malfoy and though he was a pompous dolt, she rather thought he was somewhat cute in his own way and if he was making a move for friendship, she'd accept it. She had asked him on the train why couldn't she be both his and Ron's friend but he decided to tell her he'd see his point made and that they'd, discuss this at a later date around better company… She shook her head, Malfoy was something special.

She wasn't surprised that he was in Slytherin and when the Headmistress called her name she heard whispers and murmurs all around. She did her utmost best at blocking them out and at least everyone was rather positive, or maybe she just wanted to hear those. Her cheeks flushed pink, she sat down on the stool and let the hat drop onto her head, obscuring her view. She was rather small, but that could be due to her incoming growth spurt. Aunt Petunia had been rather small, so had her mother she was assuming.

"_Well isn't this rather interesting…" _The hat murmured in her head. She wasn't at all bothered by the intrusion, more curious about the feeling of calm that spread through her. _"You're rather sensitive to magic aren't you?"_

'_I wouldn't know…' _She thought absently.

"_Let's see… You're personality reminds me of a rather powerful witch."_

'_What house was she in?'_

"_Gryffindor. She was your mother." _Orchid blushed a little more and the hat chuckled lightly. _"No one ever tells you much about your parents apparently… Although you possess a lot of her qualities you are very much your own person. You may think the same, but what you do with your knowledge is entirely different. That being said… What house to put you in…"_

'_Whatever suits me best.'_

"_You trust me so easily."_

'_You're a hat.' _She pointed out obviously. He laughed rather loudly.

"RAVENCLAW!" The hat slowly lifted and Orchid made her way to the happy and excited blue and bronze wearing group. She sat near the end of the table and shyly stared at the empty plate. With a few words from the Headmaster or her magical guardian, they could begin eating and at the growl of her stomach she was glad it was then and not later. As she reached for the mashed potatoes, a hand had brushed against her and she quickly pulled away, blushing, mumbling a slight apology.

"So adorable!" She giggled and Orchid shyly looked over at the girl before her. Her long silk black hair was in a ponytail and she had a wide and welcoming smile. "I'm Su Li."

"Orchid Potter." Su grinned. Orchid recalled a fifth year prefect by the same name, Ken? He had mentioned a younger sister. Ken had helped her onto the train and she was thanking how lucky she was to have made acquaintances with his sister.

"Isn't this awesome?" She served the shy red head her mash potatoes as she prattled on. "The best part about being a Ravenclaw is the huuuuge library we get! It's like, better than the library of Hogwarts itself, made by Rowena Ravenclaw." The dirty blonde haired boy across from her whistled and they shared a grin. "That's Anthony Goldstein, to his left is Michael Cormer and beside me is my neighbour, Padma Patil." Orchid gave a little wave and they all chorused a greeting happening to deliver the same word and the same tone. The group chuckled to themselves and Orchid dug in, happy to have a filled plate for once.

"This may be all fun for you since Ken practically told you everything, him being a prefect and all." Padma said haughtier than most. Orchid observed and listened while she ate. "But I am not looking forward to Potions. At least I'm not a Gryffindor like Pavarti, he tends to pick on them from what I gathered on the train." She shivered and Orchid raised a delicate red eyebrow.

"Which one is the potions professor?" She asked after swallowing a rather large piece of chicken.

"The dark looking one, in fact, he's staring in this direction!" Anthony said in surprise. Orchid looked up and made eye contact with Severus Snape. He looked so pale, as if he'd seen a ghost and she shyly waved at him. He didn't move and her cheeks coloured and she focused on her plate. Anthony chuckled and Su grinned while Padma shook her head.

"You sure are friendly Potter." Michael said as he took a bite from his meat pie. Orchid could do nothing but sit there shyly wondering if there had been something on her face. Self-conscious, she rubbed her cheeks and nose.

"Well, staring back would be rude." She pointed out with a slight shrug of her shoulders. It sent Anthony and Padma into a fit of giggles while Su let out a boisterous laugh. Orchid couldn't help but admire her carefree spirit. Michael had grinned to himself.

"I think Professor Snape might like 'em young!" Su said nudging Orchid's side. Padma sputtered out her pumpkin juice. All Orchid could do was sink into herself, while Anthony clutched his ears.

"My young untainted mind…" He mumbled while Su cackled lightly. Orchid couldn't help but feel comfortable around her fellow claws, they seemed nice enough. Very different than the quieter older year Claws. Orchid's thoughts wondered off, thinking she'd be just as outgoing if she had an older sibling or at least, family who wanted her around.

"Maybe Su's right, he's still staring at you..." Padma pointed out. The red head couldn't help but glance at the corner of her eye and shivered, imagining him trying to court her. He looked more shocked then enthralled though, she noted to herself.

"You guys are putting terrible images in my head." Orchid mumbled quietly, her cheeks still red from feeling rather foolish, waving at a man who couldn't be bothered to wave back.

"Couldn't agree more." Anthony moaned on from beside Michael who looked rather gaunt and dark. Anthony's brown eyes were wide as if he was disturbed and Su chuckled.

"I can't believe she enchanted a teacher already." Padma said shaking her head.

"I can, she's so pretty." Orchid's light pink flush turned rather red as she nudged Su, she had no filter didn't she?

"You're such a Gryffindor Su." Padma pointed out. Su waved her finger and shook her head.

"Nuh huh, I'm smarter." Su said confidently, with her eyes closed and tapping her left temple. Orchid couldn't help but let out a laugh, Su was pretty out there and funny, and her brother was nice and cute. Plus, no one in Ravenclaw was trying to tell her how to behave. Her chest filled with warmth and she couldn't help but smile at the hat's choice.

"You know, the other houses think all of us are nerds." Su said. "We're going to show them how awesome we are." She spoke with such determination as she stabbed her salmon.

"By beating them in academics?" Padma noted. Su gave her an obvious look and Orchid and Anthony shared a chuckle.

"Duh, but also in everything else, I expect nothing less from you guys. I'm tired of hearing about Gryffindor and Slytherin. We Claws are just as awesome!"

"You came here with a plan." Michael pointed out. Su nodded.

"Not me, I'm still soaking everything in." Orchid said. Su's energy was contagious and she found herself opening up a little more, joining her new friends in conversation as they ate. She was rather surprised by how much she could eat and how often it would be allowed.

"I have to agree, I've been around magic before but this?" Anthony whistled looking up at the Hogwarts ceiling. Orchid bit her lip knowing that if she were to explain that the word itself was banned it would just make her standout even more. She already felt inferior to others and shrunk into her already small frame, eating quietly.

"No slacking in this house!" Su said wagging her finger, giving each member in the conversation a rather serious and stern stare. "In order to be on top we gotta be unified." She spoke with such heart, Orchid couldn't help but admire her vibrant personality and realized she reminded her a lot like the Gryffindor's she had recently encountered. Padma's statement was rather true.

"Have you been reading adventure books?" Anthony asked. She looked sheepish and avoided eye contact.

"Just some Beowulf, some of the Iliad and Odyssey." She sort of mumbled. That had piqued Orchid's interest having learned of those stories in English class and read them. They had inspired the need to be so full with life. Su shook her shoulders and sat up straighter, she managed to get back her usual exuberance. "But that shouldn't matter, all for one and one for all!" She raised her goblet, a fire burning in her dark eyes and Orchid grinned, unable to contain her amusement at her new friends declaration. She was the first out of the others to raise her glass and joined a widely grinning Su.

"Oh brother..." Padma mumbled, raising hers as well. Anthony raised his without hesitation and Michael rolled his eyes, pushing hair from his face and lifted his as well rather reluctantly, though his lips were turned into a small smile.

"To a good year!" Su called out.

"Here here!" Anthony cheered. Michael sighed and Padma grinned.

"Agreed!" Orchid let out laughing. They continued to feast feeling rather open and discussed study habits and aspiring goals for the year. Orchid spoke when addressed, still somewhat shy. At the back of her mind she wondered if her Aunt would be okay without her. Or maybe she would worry. She missed her already despite their rather off and on relationship it was family and she hoped that they could get along. She glanced over at the Gryffindor table and found Hermione between Neville and Ronald. Hermione looked less than pleased at Ron's table manners and Neville kept mostly to himself. Hermione finally looked up and smiled and Orchid couldn't help but wave. She had already made more friends in a day then ever attending primary school, her only friend then had been books since children were wary of her seeing her cousin bully her constantly.

After dinner, she headed into her dorm she shared with Su and Padma, happy that the rooms were split into three and made her first acquaintance with Terry Boot, Lisa Turpin and Mandy Brocklehurst. She was excited to practice magic, she was excited to learn and she hoped she could have classes with her new friends, even hoping to get to know Draco. For the first time in a long time Orchid Potter felt like she could do as she pleased, be herself whatever it was and hoped that she could be the best she could be. One goal she wanted to accomplish was to find out more about her parents and why she would be staying with her Aunt if Dumbledore could take her in. Though she loved her Aunt it was clear that she had a very strong hate love relationship and the abuse and bruises had yet to heal despite her gentle touch.

She was determined to find herself, be the good person she knew she was and follow her gut and her mind no matter what and she knew she would do so without anything getting in her way.


End file.
